- Welcome Message
It’s officially summer and I kicked my summer off with my
first lesson in golf and the same day I had a wonderful boat
ride across the Chesapeake Bay and back! Looks like it’s
going to be a great summer and I hope for all of you too.
This month we’re still looking at * OverHalling * the financial
area of your life with the hope of bringing you * financial
freedom *, as Suzie Orman would say.
Our guest article comes from Michael Gifford who has a
GREAT web site that is packed with articles at
http://www.nobizlikehomebiz.com
If you’ve been doing the exercises in D-BUST, we continue
with more SAVE functions and I hope you have fun with it.
I just had to add a special article this month while we’re on
the topic of money. Business owners, please be sure to
check it out!
Okay, ready to start "OverHalling"?
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2. OverHalling and Balance
- I Wasn't Paying Attention: Where Does My Money Go and
How Can I Get Some Back? - Part 2
by: Janet L. Hall
Hopefully, after keeping a daily or monthly log of expenditures, you’ve
begun to notice your pattern of spending habits. You should be able to see where all
your money is going and not just wondering. You should now be able to look at what
you can cut out or cut back on.
Why do you need to do this * OverHall *?
Several good reasons could be if you’re having troubles making ends meet,
living from paycheck to paycheck, or don’t have any money in reserve for
unexpected emergencies. Other reasons could be that you want to buy a home, take a
vacation, buy new equipment for your business, go to college or send your children to college. Still other reasons could be that you're self-employed
and you need to save or invest for your retirement.
Let’s get started by making two lists, one for your NEEDS and one for your WANTS.
What’s the difference?
Let me give you an example of how I see NEEDS vs. WANTS.
A NEED is something that you NEED to survive such as food, shelter, and clothing.
A WANT is something you desire. Something that you might already own, but you WANT another or a new one such as shoes, or a jacket, or a car. A WANT
can also be something that you don’t currently have. As humans, we all have unlimited wants, therefore we must make choices. In economics this is
referred to as * opportunity cost *, the highest-valued, next-best alternative that
must be sacrificed to attain something or to satisfy a want. Some refer to this as a
trade off.
Now you need to ask yourself how much you are willing to spend or need to spend on your needs to survive and are you spending too much? Do your
clothes have to be new, with big name labels? Does your home have to be near the water with a hot tub and a swimming pool? Does your food have to be the
best cut of meat or dining at fancy restaurants every night? You get the
idea?
What about your WANTS? What are you willing to trade off to make your WANTS a reality?
Let’s look for a minute of a WANT of a vacation to Alaska.
You will need to take some actions and ask yourself, possibly, some hard questions, and make some hard decisions.
~~ Do you have to save for this and how will you save?
~~ What steps must you take to estimate the cost of such a vacation AND what steps will or can you take to save for the trip?
~~ How long do you want to vacation?
~~ How will you travel and what are those costs?
Planes, Trains, Automobiles? <g>
Hike, Bike, Cruise ship?
~~ Where will you stay and what are those costs?
Hotel, Motel, Inn?
B&B, Igloo, Tent?
Friend, Relative, Friend of a Friend?
~~ How will you eat and what are those costs?
Bring or buy food there?
Eat out?
Skip some meals?
~~ Do you need to purchase * special * clothes?
Where can you purchase?
How much will that cost?
~~ When do you want to vacation in Alaska? Now, next year, five years, or ten years?
Once you find the estimated answers to those questions you’ll need to look
at how much you need to save and where in your daily expenses can you cut back.
TIP: Use this type of exercise for any wants you have for your life and
business.
You’ll discover if you can really turn your wants into reality, if they are
realistic and feasible.
Top 10 Tips for * OverHalling * Your Purchases
- Plan, plan, plan ahead
- Don’t pay retail
- Shop at thrift stores, consignment shops, secondhand boutiques,
warehouses, or in the slightly damaged department.
- Get in a co-op or collectively buy with others
- Don’t shop with your emotions, use your conscience when shopping
- Rent big ticket items when possible (for instance, if you need to fold
10,000 documents on a quarterly basis or use a saw-zall once a year)
- Use the library
- Barter
- Comparison-shop for EVEYTHING!
- Don’t buy because it’s on sale or because you have a coupon
Let’s look at some items or habits you can stop this month in order to
start saving (Use your items and figures that you had logged into you daily expenditures).
$208/yr – newspaper
$72/yr – 1 movie a month at $6
$720/yr – 20 breakfast drinks a month at $4
$48/yr – 1 magazine at $4 a month
GRAND TOTAL of SAVINGS a YEAR=$1,048
In ten years that would be $10,4800
Now, think a minute, what can you do with that $1,048 extra a year or that $10,4800 in ten years?
Get a big jar; water bottle, tin can, piggy bank, or something to start
throwing your MONEY into (don’t forget a container for your car).
If you pay cash for a daily newspaper, throw your paper cost DAILY into your container. If you pay monthly, write yourself a check for that cost.
Start a
new habit by being selective on what you NEED to read and see if you can read it
on the Internet or at the library. Can you hear about it on the TV news? Better
yet, try a life change and STOP reading or listening to the news and start making
your own * news * to share with relatives and friends.
When you go to rent a movie, STOP, and throw that money into your container. See if the movie is at the library, if a friend has it to borrow, or wait for
it to come out on regular TV.
Start making your * special drink * at home in the morning. You are now able
to ENJOY your * special drink * because now you have more time because; you don’t have to drive to the * special drink * place, get out of your car,
stand in a sometimes long line, wait for your order to be prepared, and guzzle down your
*special drink * while sprinting off, racing off, or dashing down the street
to wherever you might be headed; NOW you can relax and throw your $4, your stress, problems, and concerns into your container and REALLY ENJOY your *
special drink *. (Whew, didn’t mean to get off on a rant <g>).
That magazine that comes monthly, that you never have time to read, and is piling up on the table or floor; stop it from coming into your home or office
and write yourself a check at renewal time! If you think you can’t live without
it, see if a friend gets it and ask to borrow. See if it’s on the Internet or at the
library.
I’m not trying to tell you to be a penny pincher or a miser. I just want
you to REALLY look at where your money is going. Stop, think, and look at how you
can * OverHall * your daily expenditures so you can get some of your hard earned money back and bring a sense of financial BALANCE back into your life.
If you find you are spending money on something that TRULY brings happiness, pleasure, comfort, and BALANCE into your life, then don’t give it up.
Although you might consider cutting back on that item.
Next month I’ll be back with more GREAT tips lists on where and how you can start saving in other areas of your life!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Home Managers- (If you make sure the bills get paid, call the
vendors to have repairs done, and keep track of all the
important documents...you are a Home Manager) check out
http://www.overhall.com/wwwh1.htm
"The little WHO, WHEN, and WHERE Booklet"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. OH, BOY! ANOTHER CREDIT CARD OFFER!
by: Michael Gifford
ARE YOU RIPE FOR THE PICKING?
Those of us who work from home occasionally find ourselves in
need of a financial pick-me-up. Even the best of businesses has
a slow time now and then. It's at a time like this that we
become especially vulnerable to those practically irresistible
pre-approved credit offers that come in the mail.
Admit it. You've received a hundred of these offers if you've
received one. And the thought of getting just a few thousand
dollars more to give you a little breathing room sure sounds
like a good idea. Before you jump in with both feet, there are
some "red flags" for which you should be looking on the pages
of these offers.
WAVING THE RED FLAGS
Take, for instance, the one I received in the mail the other
day. They were offering me a "Gold Card" with a $10,000 credit
limit. What's more, I was already pre-approved. All I needed to
do was send in my $29.95 annual fee by a certain date and my
account would be activated immediately. In spite of this
generous offer and in spite of the stern warning that failure
to respond "may result in termination of your eligibility," I
passed on this one because of the following "red flags."
RED FLAG#1: There was no phone number anywhere on the notice
they sent me. That should say it all regarding any company that
wants you to send them money.
RED FLAG #2: They required money up front. I know that even
many well-known banks have annual fees on their credit cards,
but the point is that they are well-known and this company was
not. At least with a recognizable company you'll be aware of
where your money is going. Besides, there are also several
credit cards that you can get that don't carry annual fees.
RED FLAG #3: A more careful look at this particular offer
revealed that they were not really inviting me to get a Visa or
Mastercard after all. The $10,000 credit limit was to be "valid
exclusively toward all credit purchases" from this particular
company. In essence, it was a line of credit to purchase their
products and their products only.
BUT THAT'S NOT ALL
This was only one of the offers I recently received. Believe it
or not, I had to pause after I wrote that last sentence so I
could tell a telephone solicitor that I was not interested in
his "Platinum" card. Anyway, here are a few more red flags that
should grab your attention.
RED FLAG #4: Watch out for that interest rate. Most of the
unsolicited credit card offers will carry an excessive rate of
interest. Be sure you read the small print.
RED FLAG #5: Watch out for that interest rate. No, it's not
deja vu. I meant to repeat myself. Again, checking the fine
print you'll notice that some cards have an introductory rate
that lasts for six months and then increases dramatically.
RED FLAG #6: Watch out for that interest rate. This is getting
monotonous, isn't it? Check the fine print again. You may
discover that the interest rate increases if you are ever late
making a payment. Another offer I got had a 19% rate but if I
was late on a payment it ballooned to 24%
RED FLAG #7: Watch out for that... (just kidding!). Actually,
you do need to go back into the fine print, but this time pay
attention to what it says about the grace period. When do they
begin calculating the interest? If you're not careful, even if
you pay your balance in full the first month you could end up
paying interest.
HOW BADLY DID YOU SAY YOU NEEDED THAT MONEY?
If you're already in the habit of automatically trashing every
credit card offer you receive, keep it up. If, however, you are
like me and like to look them over every once in a while,
keep an eye out for these red flags. If ANY of them show up in
that offer you are considering, toss it out. You don't need the
money that badly and if you do take it, the chances are that
you'll end up needing it even worse before your dealings with
that company are through.
------------------------------------------------
Michael Gifford is the author of "There's No Business Like Home
Business." He is also the editor of the free e-zine, "Home Biz
Journal." Visit http://www.nobizlikehomebiz.com
to learn more.
He can be reached at expectgreatness@nobizlikehomebiz.com or by calling 800-528-1251.
------------------------------------------------
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Office Managers and Business Owners-Just released!
"The little WHO, WHEN, and WHERE Office Managers Booklet"
http://www.overhall.com/wwwo1.htm
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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4. D-BUST Your Computer – Part 4-b
by: Janet L. Hall
At some time you might find that you have created a document that you will
want to save in more then one place, such as another folder. Maybe you’ll need
to save your document to another media, such as a floppy or zip disk, or a CD Write. And maybe you have created a beautiful document that you would like to
use over and over again except some of the content will change and the document might need to be filed in a different folder, have a different name,
or filed in a different format.
On my computer I’ve created several templates (like a pattern) for my
business, such as my letterhead, envelopes, and invoices. I don’t want to recreate
these sometimes-laborious documents every time I need to send out correspondence.
But I do need to enter new content in the body of the document. I can open up the template I need to use, type in the new information and do a SAVE AS to
save the * new * document to it’s proper folder AND KEEP the template as a
* blank * document and in it’s proper folder.
Using the exercise we did in Part 4-a of D-BUST Your Computer (May issue), let’s open the document, Hair Meeting 61200 that we had filed in the Larry
Folder. You want to keep Hair Meeting 61200 * intact * but you need to change some of the content to send out to MOE and save this slightly altered
document in your MOE folder. Make your changes and then:
~~ Move POINTER to File and CLICK
~~ Move POINTER to SAVE AS and CLICK
A SAVE AS Box will appear. Notice the three sections: Save in:, File name:,
and Save as type:.
The Save in: section should have the last folder name that you saved a document to. In this case you want to save your document in your * MOE *
folder, which is located in the Clients folder, which is located in MY DOCUMENTS folder.
~~ CLICK the small black down arrow next to the folder name in Save in:
~~ CLICK on MY DOCUMENTS
~~ Locate the CLIENTS Folder in the box and DOUBLE CLICK on it
~~ The CLIENTS folder should now be in the Save in: section
~~ Locate and move your POINTER to the * MOE * folder and DOUBLE CLICK on it
~~ The * MOE * folder is now in the Save in: section
Now you have to give your document a name.
~~ PRESS Your TAB Key to move to File name: or move POINTER to File name: and CLICK.
~~ Something will already be there BUT you want to give the document a name you will remember and can easily locate when needed.
TIP: You can keep the same document name or change it.
~~ Type in the new name you want to give your document or leave the same
~~ Press ENTER/RETURN
OR
~~ Move POINTER to SAVE and CLICK
WARNING WARNING!! DO NOT do the above if you need to SAVE the document in a DIFFERENT FILE FORMAT, such as TEXT or HTML Code.
Save as type: the default is usually Word Document but notice the small black arrow next to this and CLICK on it. Here is where you are presented with a
list of file types that you might need to save your document into.
Now you have the two different documents in two different folders.
What if you need to save a document to your hard drive AND a floppy, zip, or
CD Write? Perform your SAVE with your document opened and then do a SAVE AS.
USING SAVE AS to a DIFFERENT MEDIA (floppy, zip or CD Write):
Using the opened document or open up a document
~~ Move POINTER to File and CLICK
~~ Move POINTER to SAVE AS and CLICK
Again, you will be presented with the SAVE AS Box
~~ Insert into your computer the media you are saving to: Floppy, Zip, or CD Write
~~ The Save in: section should have the last folder
name that you saved a document to. In this case you want to save to your (A:), (B:), (D:), (E:),
(F:), (you choose the letter on your computer that corresponds to the media type; on my
computer, a floppy is my (A:) drive.).
To locate and select the proper drive for the media you want to save to:
~~ CLICK the small black down arrow next to the folder name in Save in:
~~ CLICK until you find the drive you want to save to.
You can also change the name and format of the document you are saving by repeating the steps explained in the SAVE AS BOX above.
Press RETURN/ENTER or CLICK SAVE
AutoSave:
This feature in Word is really a recovery feature, it DOES NOT SAVE your documents in the true sense. What it does is save changes or entered text to
a recovery file automatically for you at time intervals that you must set up.
This function is VERY useful if you experience power outages, power failures, or
you have to restart your computer before you could save or close your document.
TIP: You must have a document open to set this function and it is protection
for your OPEN documents.
Open any document.
~~ Move POINTER to Tools (Located at the top of your screen) and CLICK
~~ Move POINTER to Options and CLICK
An Options Box will appear and you will notice several * Tabs * you can click
on.
There is a lot of * stuff * here that you have probably never seen and a lot
of things you can change and customize, but for now let’s continue.
~~ Move POINTER to SAVE Tab and CLICK
You will see several little box buttons and you want to make sure the button SAVE AUTORECOVER info every: is checked. If it’s not checked:
~~ Move POINTER to that box button and CLICK
Notice that you can change the minutes that you want WORD to automatically save your open documents in case of a power surge or failure. I have mine set
at 10. To change yours:
~~ Move POINTER and CLICK on the little up or down arrow to change the minutes.
~~ Move POINTER to OK and CLICK
WARNING, WARNING: After a surge, failure or a restart, WORD will open the RECOVERY file and you MUST SAVE it or it will be DELETED!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. Special Article: How to
BOOST and GENERATE
More Income Into Your Business
by: Janet L. Hall
When was the last time you sat down and reviewed your business plan? Have you ever done a business plan?
Today, right now, why not just sit down and write a simple plan of where you want your business to go and what you need to do to get it there. Why not sit
down, write out what you want you business to accomplish and what it will
take to meet those wants.
Here are ten questions to ask yourself while planning:
- Do you have a product and are you offering it in every form of media possible? (book, e-book, booklet, e-booklet, articles, disk, CD, DVD,
video, audio)
- Can you make a product?
- Do you have a niche for your products or services?
- Is there a niche you haven’t thought of or tried?
- Do you have an associate, partnership, or joint venture program or
participate in any?
- Are you getting the publicity you deserve?
- Do you give interviews?
- Do you have something you can talk about, train others to do, or want to
become a presenter?
- Do you network at the right places, with the right people, at the right
time?
- Do you volunteer in your community?
If you answered NO to most of those questions, think again. I have searched
the Internet far and wide, for many long hours and read, researched, and reviewed
many tools that I thought might help my business and Internet business. Now I’d
like to share these proven tools with you to help you accomplish what you
want to do and CAN do in your business. I have personally used, and am implementing all the recommended tools below and have become an associate
or affiliate member of some; that’s how much I believe in them.
These tools
have opened my eyes and have helped me rethink my business plan and what I CAN do! I still have a lot of work to do with all the information I’ve learned,
but the point is I’m working it and my business and income is changing for the
better because of these tools.
~~ DIFFERENT MEDIA’S in WHICH TO CREATE YOUR PRODUCTS:
If you already have a product, rethink it and see how you can re-offer it. My dear friend and client, Tom Antion, has a product, * Electronic Marketing
Butt Camp on CD *at http://www.antion.com/t.cgi/123221/buttcampcd.htm
His CD is packed with how-to information for Media Marketing, Telephone Seminars, E-Books, CD Productions, Auctions, and much, much more. He
named it Butt Camp because he sits on his butt all day making money <g>
and so can you! (Don’t let the title of his site, Speakers Shop, scare you
away. Believe me, his stuff is not just for speakers BUT that is his niche market).
~~ HOW TO CREATE A PRODUCT:
If you don’t have a product and would love to learn how to create one,
check out, * Make Your Knowledge Sell * at http://www.sitesell.com/overhallsales.html
Ken Evoy’s manual will tell you step by step on how to develop a product and
how to sell your product.
~~ FINDING YOUR NICHE and MARKETING FOR YOUR PRODUCTS:
Another useful tool, * The Insider Secrets to Marketing Your Business on the Internet * Home Study Course that I highly recommend is at
http://www.marketingtips.com/t.cgi/47903
Corey’s site is also loaded with lots of FREE marketing information.
~~ ASSOCIATE AND AFFILIATE PROGRAMS:
As you can tell by the links above, I am in associate and affiliate programs.
There are MANY on the Internet that you can join but I highly recommend that you
only join such a program if you truly believe in the product and you are going to
actively help promote it. This is another way you can generate some
additional income into your business. Once you develop a product, you can offer your own
associate or affiliate program. If you like Tom and Corey’s tools, you can
also become an associate. To become an associate of Tom Antion’s click http://www.antion/com/t.cgi/123221/associates/assoc_program.htm
To become an associate of Corey’s click
http://www.marketingtips.com/sr/t.x/47903
to join.
~~ PUBLICITY:
If you need help with publicity then you need to check out Joan Stewart’s
site at http://www.publicityhound.com
Although I don’t personally have any of her tools, I have heard Joan speak and she has a TON of ideas to help you get the
publicity you deserve.
~~ DOING INTERVIEWS:
Joe Sabah has a database with 700 + radio talk shows who interview guests by phone at
http://www.joesabah.com
His database contains contacts, addresses, phone and fax numbers and it comes with a WONDERFUL book that takes you
step-by-step on how to make first contact and how to get on radio talk shows. Tell Joe that Janet from MD says HI!
~~ SPEAKING:
Speaking of speaking, make your speaking, presenting, or training dreams come true! When I decided I wanted to become a professional speaker I knew I had a
lot to learn; especially when a meeting planner called to hire me for a BIG speaking engagement. I had no IDEA about some of the things she was talking
about! (I had experience as a presenter and a trainer but professional
speaking is another can of worms and so is dealing with meeting planners!) Meeting planners have a whole different language and you need to know what to ask or
tell them. So where did I turn? You guessed it, my friend Tom Antion. Tom practically gives away * trade * secrets and his speaking knowledge in his *
Wake "em up * tools at http://www.antion.com/t.cgi/123221/public-speaking.htm
If you want to become a GREAT speaker, trainer, or presenter, this is a MUST!
~~ NETWORKING:
Is networking working you or are you working it? I want to caution you about joining every networking group that you can find. Networking can take up a
lot of your valuable time, BUT networking with the right people, at the right place,
and at the right time can help BOOST your business. If you belong to any
networking groups, make sure that the group is the right fit for your industry and type
of business. Find out if there is an association for your industry and if they
have a local chapter. One of the best networking groups I’ve found and belong to
is * Business and Professional Women * (http://www.bpwusa.org
). Yes, MEN can join and it’s national!
~~ VOLUNTEER:
I’m a firm and true believer that you have to give to get. Don’t forget
about one’s less fortunate in your community. Find something that’s of interest to you
and see if you can help. It could also be a place to network, but remember, you’re
there to help first.
After reading and checking out the tools I’ve recommended, I hope you can
now go back to those 10 questions and start yelling YES, YES, YES I CAN! Yes you
can start BOOSTING and GENERATING more income into your business and life!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6. Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes
~~ The saving man becomes the free man
-- Chinese Proverb
~~ Influence is like a savings account. The less you use it,
the more you’ve got.
-- Andrew Young
~~ I don’t mind going back to daylight saving time. With
inflation, the hour will be the only thing I’ve saved all year.
-- Victor Borge
~~ If you have a joke, quote, or anecdote that would fit
well into OverHall IT!, please feel free to email it to me.
mailto:janet@overhall.com
SUBJECT=Newsletter Jokes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Products, Books, and Web Site Reviews
-
~~ For the lowest gasoline prices in your neighborhood,
check out http://www.gasprices.com
~~ A GREAT article about * Spending Behavior * can be
read at
http://www.usu.edu/~acaserv/center/pages/spending.html
Philip Humbert has a web site with lots of FREE stuff,
articles, and TIPS (his e-zine is also named tips) I highly
recommend a visit to his site and while you’re there, check
out his FREE downloadable e book, * Making Money,
Creating Wealth *! Don’t forget to sign up for his FREE
newsletter! http://www.philiphumbert.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's it for this month!
Smiles, not Piles,
Janet L. Hall
Professional Organizer, Author, and Speaker
http://www.overhall.com
"If your current systems aren't working for you...
get an "OverHall"!"
Janet L. Hall is the owner of OverHall Consulting.
Janet is based out of Southern Maryland and can be
reached at 410-586-9440, 800-687-3040, or e-mail her
at janet@overhall.com. Janet can "OverHall" your
office, home, and computer clutter.
Copyright (c) 2000 by OverHall Consulting
P.O. Box 263, Port Republic, MD 20676
All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to
reproduce, copy, or distribute OverHall IT! or any articles
by Janet L. Hall so long as article(s) is kept intact, this
copyright notice, and full information about the author is
attached.
